Fordham Preparatory School - Ramview Ramview Fall 2018 | Page 22

Development
Igniting Our Mission Update:
New Start, Bright Future for Fordham Prep Crew
immediate impact on the team. He changed their stroke
patterns and other technical aspects as they progressed.
The changes made an impact: Fordham Prep finished the
year ranked eighth in the country, third among Catholic
high schools.
“Part of being the best is implementing a year-round
training program to help the boys understand physiology
and learn that an excellent training ethic will propel the
team to another level. Training and technique work
together – every stroke has a purpose.”
A familiar face took the reins as head coach of the Prep’s
Crew team last spring when Scot Killen ’83 was hired.
“When the Prep called, it was hard to say no,” said Killen in
a recent interview with Ramview. His background includes
training, racing and coaching at junior and elite levels;
including numerous national team selection camps and
club programs.
Scot grew up on City Island in the Bronx and attended St.
Mary Star of the Sea School. Initially a swimmer, he
started rowing for the New York Athletic Club and at
Fordham Prep. He was a coxswain for NYAC and a
member of the junior rowing team that finished fourth at
the Junior National and Junior World Championship trials
in Men’s 1X in 1983. He was recruited by the Naval
Academy to row, though after attending Naval Prep
School, Killen switched course and attended Florida
Institute of Technology, where he studied Aviation
Management and rowed for the Panthers. In his senior
year, his team won the national championship in Varsity
8+. He earned induction into the FIT Sports Hall of Fame
in 2009.
After college, Killen got his first taste of coaching as the
head crew coach at Melbourne High School. When he
returned home, he continued to race for the New York
Athletic Club, winning numerous U.S. championships and
the Canadian Henley title. He also competed in the 1992
and 2012 Olympic Trials. He raced in 27 Head of the
Charles regattas and won the Men’s Elite 500 Meter at the
2008 National Championships. All the while, Killen worked
as a flight instructor, his current profession.
Killen’s coaching style and knowledge of the sport had an
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The crew program recently attracted major financial
support via a pair of major gifts. The first was the
donation of a wakeless launch by Matt and Francine
McDermott P ’20 along with funds previously raised from
crew parents and the crew budget. “Having the wakeless
launch alleviates a safety and coaching issue,” Killen
states. “If something happens to a boat, I can take all the
boats on the wake and get to safety. I can stay with the
boats and the rowers the entire time and the coaching
becomes more effective.” Killen feels two more wakeless
launches would benefit the program.
Trish Fowley P ‘11, another major supporter of the
program, established the Fowley Family Crew Endowment
in memory of her late father. Fowley felt a connection to
the program when her son Patrick ’11 was on the team.
Both Fowleys agree the gift was a gesture to underscore
their connection to the Prep’s crew program and their
belief in Coach Killen. “Patrick and I have met Coach
Killen,” said Tricia Fowley, “and we are excited about the
future of Fordham Prep Crew.”
Patrick originally joined the crew team to stay in shape for
football. But after he joined, his outlook and interest
changed dramatically.
“During my junior year, Russell Giacobbe became the new
head coach, and the team size jumped from under 50 to
well over 100 athletes. With the growth in size came an
influx of success on the water. “We never failed to qualify
at least one boat for Scholastic Nationals, and in both my
freshman and senior years, the senior 4+ boat qualified
for Youth Nationals. As seniors, we won the silver medal
at Scholastic Nationals and came in 5th in the grand finals
of Youth Nationals.”
Crew stayed with Patrick beyond high school, and he
attributes his success in life to the time he spent on the
water. “I attribute much of my success in life to the skills I
learned in rowing: discipline, determination and physical
resilience.”